Lin Zhiqiang returned with the magazine and sat down. Meng Anhe immediately leaned over to take a look and exclaimed in surprise, "Sichuan Cuisine Magazine! This magazine is quite professional. Our office director loves reading it and subscribes to every issue, saying he wants to learn how to cook from it."
"Hmm, all of them are first class or top class chefs, they do look quite professional." Lin Zhiqiang flipped through the catalog and nodded in agreement.
"Here, page eighteen." Meng Anhe pointed, having already found the article about "Cross-legged Beef."
Lin Zhiqiang quickly flipped through the page, and seeing the photo at the beginning of the article, both of them smiled.
"This photo is quite good. It makes him look tall, and he's handsome enough. The photography skills of this food magazine are much better than those of your architecture magazines." Lin Zhiqiang laughed. "The last photo they took of you was so bad that your face was barely visible when it was printed. It was a complete waste of your beauty."
"I even put on a full face of makeup, it's infuriating!" Meng Anhe said through gritted teeth.
The two continued reading, nodding occasionally, smiles playing on their lips.
"Didn't you ask me last time how to reply to your sister? I think we don't need to say much. Just buy a copy of 'Sichuan Cuisine' magazine and send it to her so she can read it herself." Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile. "Look, it has Zhou Yan's photo, photos of the dish he makes, a professional's summary of his character, and specific case studies."
"If we were the ones saying these things, your sister might suspect we were exaggerating. But now, it's a professional interview with a third party food and cooking magazine—professional and objective."
"I'd forgotten all about it if you hadn't mentioned it. I've been rushing to meet the project deadlines everyday since I went up there, and I haven't even replied to my sister's letters." Meng Anhe nodded with a smile. "That's good. I'll just send her a magazine. This interview is really well-written, and it contains a lot of inside information that we didn't know.
Zhou Yan is a diligent and studious young man. His perseverance in recreating Cross-legged Beef already surpasses that of most young people."
"At only twenty years old, Zhou Yan has already been interviewed by an industry magazine. He's sure to make a name for himself in the culinary world. You see, little Suji is definitely not the end for him." Lin Zhiqiang's smile was tinged with pride. He had always been very optimistic about Zhou Yan.
Meng Anhe flipped through a few pages of the magazine, gently closed it, and nodded, saying, "I admit, you were more accurate than me this time. Getting published in an industry specific magazine at twenty, and this 'Cross-legged Beef is just one of his specialties. The other Sichuan dishes on the menu are no less skilled than those of chefs in Rongcheng's high-end restaurants, he's destined for fame and fortune."
She wasn't a chef, so she had previously found it difficult to accurately assess Zhou Yan's skill level.
But as an architect who frequently appears in industry magazines, she could roughly judge the magazine's professionalism after flipping through a few articles.
Among a group of teaching interviews featuring top level and master chefs, Zhou Yan's article's value is self-evident.
Moreover, Zhou Yan is reviving the tradition of a dish, and giving it a sufficiently high level of insight and origin, the article even suggests that "Cross-legged Beef" might become a new culinary icon of Jiazhou.
This is quite high praise.
This goes beyond what a typical chef does to prepare a single dish.
In her experience, Zhou Yan was able to make a name for himself in the industry with this interview.
Even if it doesn't bring him direct economic benefits in the short term, this interview will be his stepping stone when he opens a restaurant in Jiazhou or even Rongcheng in the future.
For most people, fame is something that can only be encountered by chance.
Many veteran chefs work their entire lives without ever having the opportunity to appear in a magazine and leave their name in the industry.
Zhou Yan, barely twenty years old, already had a two pages interview, and his cooking had even graced a magazine cover.
She retracted her earlier regret that Zhou Yan hadn't gone to university, with expertise in a particular field, academic qualifications become less important.
Zhou Yan had only missed a few years of formal education, but his eloquence, understanding, calligraphy, and professional skills were all recognized.
The two little ones were completely awestruck by his cooking skills, wishing they could adopt him as their older brother.
"Here you go, your Mapo Tofu and Braised Pork Ribs." Zhao Hong brought the dishes out and placed them on the table.
"Jingxing, Bingwen, come eat. Play with Sister Momo after you eat." Meng Anhe said, closing the magazine and handing it to Lin Zhiqiang. "Put it back so it doesn't get oily."
"Okay." the two little ones replied, scurrying over to sit down.
Lin Zhiqiang put the magazine back on the menu wall and sat down again.
The whole family's eyes were fixed on the freshly cooked, steaming Mapo Tofu.
"It's so red! Is it spicy?" Lin Bingwen hesitated.
"It smells so good! This tofu is braised with meat, it looks delicious!" Lin Jingxing swallowed hard. He was unsure what to do, so he served himself a bowl of rice first. While scooping the tofu with a spoon, he said, "Little brother, let me try it for you first. If it's too spicy, don't eat it."
"Mmm." Lin Bingwen nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and first put a piece of dried bean curd sticks in his mouth.
"This Mapo Tofu looks quite good, almost identical to the one I had at Chen Mapo Tofu last year." Lin Zhiqiang remarked.
"Yes, it really does look similar, and it looks even better than what our cafeteria chef makes." Meng Anhe nodded in agreement. One of the chefs in their cafeteria was transferred from Chen Mapo Tofu, and his Mapo Tofu was quite authentic, a star dish in the cafeteria. He made a big pot of it almost everyday, and her colleagues would scramble to get some.
Seeing Lin Jingxing opening his mouth wide, about to shovel a whole piece of tofu into his mouth, Meng Anhe quickly said, "It's hot! It's fresh out of the wok, blow on it before you eat it."
Unfortunately, Lin Jingxing's mouth was faster. Before she could finish speaking, he'd already shoveled the entire piece of tofu into his mouth. His eyes widened instantly, his mouth agape as he gasped for breath, his tongue flailing wildly, trying to cool the tofu down.
Hot!
It's really hot!
With a touch of his teeth and a flick of his tongue, the smooth tofu instantly melted in his mouth.
Before he could even spit out the tofu, the numbing, spicy, fresh and fragrant filled the air, actually suppressing some of the burning pain.
Now, he couldn't bear to spit it out.
So fragrant!
Spicy and numbing, delicious!
He quickly shoveled a mouthful of rice to cool it down. The sweet, fluffy rice masked the numbing spiciness on his tongue, blending perfectly with the Mapo Tofu, becoming more fragrant with each chew.
"Brother, is it spicy? Is it good?" Lin Bingwen asked, staring at him.
"It's incredibly spicy, and super hot. Little brother, you definitely can't handle it. Let your brother bear this pain for you." Lin Jingxing said, scooping two more spoonfuls of Mapo Tofu into his bowl.
"Brother, you're such a good person." Lin Bingwen said, his face full of emotion.
Meng Anhe glanced at her foolish youngest son, shook her head helplessly, scooped a spoonful of Mapo Tofu into her bowl, broke it in half, blew on it, and then fed it to herself.
The freshly cooked Mapo Tofu was indeed very hot, but the taste was truly amazing!
Numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant, crispy, tender and piping hot!
This one bite encompassed it all.
The seasoning was even more vibrant than that of the chef in their cafeteria, yet the flavors blended together more perfectly.
Paired with a mouthful of rice, it was even more delicious.
"This Mapo Tofu is so authentic! It feels almost identical to Chen Mapo Tofu, and even more flavorful!" Lin Zhiqiang couldn't help but exclaim.
"The beef topping is so fragrant! The broth tastes like it's made with beef bone broth, infused with the crispy aroma of the beef topping. It's absorbed by the tender tofu, then coated tightly with cornstarch, and finally sprinkled with a thin layer of Sichuan peppercorn powder—it's all perfectly combined."
"Besides the fermented broad beans and chili powder, this chili oil also smells of fermented black beans. All the flavors blend perfectly into this bite of tofu, it's so delicious!"
"Paired with a bowl of rice, it tastes absolutely delicious. No, no, it should be said that it's... absolutely ba shi de ban!"
Lin Zhiqiang's heartfelt words made the customers ordering food nearby swallow hard.
If even the deputy factory director gave it such high praise, then they absolutely have to order the Mapo Tofu!
"Boss, we'd like to order one serving of Mapo Tofu!"
"We'll have one serving too!"
The guests placed their orders one after another, almost one serving per table.
The customers behind them in line got impatient and quickly asked, "Auntie, could you please save us a serving of Mapo Tofu? I've never had it before."
Aunt Zhao finished writing the last stroke of the fourth tally mark, and said with a slightly apologetic smile, "Good girl, the last one has already been ordered, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."
After saying that, she hung the Mapo Tofu sign in the sold out section.
The customers in line behind immediately sighed.
Mapo Tofu is too famous!
A famous dish of Rongcheng, with a long history, even if you haven't tried it, you've probably heard of it.
Suji couldn't get authentic Mapo Tofu at all, even the state-owned restaurants were criticized for not being true Mapo Tofu.
Now that Zhou Yan's Mapo Tofu was receiving rave reviews, everyone naturally wanted to try it.
A large portion for only eighty cents, with beef topping, a half-meat, half-vegetarian dish—it was incredibly affordable!
"Zhou Yan is so skilled, everything he does is so professional." Lin Zhiqiang remarked.
Meng Anhe was eating braised dried bean curd sticks. Her delicate eyebrows arched slightly, her eyes widened, and her beautiful face was filled with amazement. After chewing and swallowing, she exclaimed, "This dried bean curd sticks is so delicious! The aroma of beans and meat blend perfectly, it's soft but not mushy, and the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes. I've never eaten such delicious dried bean curd sticks before!"
"Mom, I love dried bean curd stick the most!" Lin Bingwen put a piece of dried tofu in her bowl. "Try it, dried tofu is super delicious!"
Lin Jingxing, who was engrossed in his rice, glanced at him and also put a piece of lotus root in her bowl. "Mom, try this lotus root, it's crisp and delicious."
"Okay, I'll try them all." Meng Anhe said with a smile. She first tasted the dried tofu, then the lotus root, nodding repeatedly. "Mmm, the dried tofu is also very fragrant, as tender as dried egg. The lotus root is also delicious, crisp and fragrant."
Hearing this, both sons grinned.
"I'll bring two boxes of braised food for them to try when I go up in a couple of days. I'll also bring a separate braised vegetable dish for Director Fang. She really likes dried bean curd sticks and makes a trip to the north of the city every week to buy braised vegetables. I think they're not nearly as good as Zhou Yan's." Meng Anhe said.
"Sure." Lin Zhiqiang nodded, then asked, "Director Fang and you have such a good relationship, do you want to bring her another pig's trotter for her daughter?"
"Just bring some braised vegetables. If you bring too much, people will think you need something from them." Meng Anhe shook her head.
"Okay, I'll tell Little Zhou later and ask him to save some for you. Dried bean curd sticks are a bestseller, they're always the first to sell out."
...
The sky was getting dark.
A bonfire burned under a large tree at the entrance of Zhou Village. It was especially lively today, with men and women, young and old, gathered around to warm themselves and chat.
"Brother Ze, I heard Laosi's son was in a magazine? And what kind of interview was it?"
"Really?! I heard them talking about it in the fields today. Zhou Yan has only been learning to cook for two or three years."
"Everyone here cooks soup pot, he's probably not that good."
The village's conversation today mainly revolved around Zhou Yan's appearance in the magazine.
In the village, this was big news.
Two students from their village were admitted to universities last year, which was only mentioned briefly in the Jiazhou Daily, without even their names being revealed.
As the representative of the Old Zhou family, Zhou Ze ate dinner early today and took a prominent spot on the bluestone under the tree, listening silently to everyone's discussion, his lips pursed with smugness.
His nephew is doing well, he's got face too!
Seeing everyone's eyes gathering around him, Zhou Ze cleared his throat and said, "The cover of 'Sichuan Cuisine' magazine features our Zhou Yan's Cross-legged Beef, and pages eighteen and nineteen are an interview with him by the magazine's deputy editor-in-chief.
The previous page features a master chef teaching knife skills, and the next page shows a first class chef teaching how to make pan-fried chicken. What do you think of the prestige of this?
To be honest, this is no different from becoming the top chef..."
...
After Zhou Yan finished cooking the last serving of spicy stir-fried pork liver, he let out a long sigh of relief, took off his apron, and was about to leave the kitchen when a message popped up in his eyes:
[Side Quest: Last issue of "Sichuan Cuisine" magazine completed! Influence calculation in progress...]
[Quest Reward: Rarity of reward based on influence.]